


Every little thing you do (I do adore)

by littlemissmusique



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Library, Awkwardness, Crushes, First Meetings, Friendship, M/M, Students, Volleyball Dorks in Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:34:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23153341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemissmusique/pseuds/littlemissmusique
Summary: When he has some holiday time to spare, Suga decides to volunteer at the local library.  Enter Ushijima Wakatoshi, the sternly infallible boy who has no idea how to handle children.  Suga never stands a chance.
Relationships: Sugawara Koushi/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Comments: 15
Kudos: 91





	Every little thing you do (I do adore)

This had seemed like a good idea when he had signed up three weeks ago.

Suga stared up at the library and… continued staring.His feet had decided not to take him inside.When his parents had told him he’d be spending the holidays with his uncle, it had made sense to find something to occupy his time while his uncle spent long hours at work.The library advertisement had seemed like a dream come true.

He loved kids, he reminded himself.He loved reading.This would be easy.Or, if not easy, at least fun.He steeled himself, took a breath, and sternly told his feet that break-time was over.Time to get a move on or he’d be late.

This spurred them into motion and he entered the building with his back straight.The feeling of being surrounded by books made him feel more relaxed immediately.

He walked up to the front desk and a pretty brunette girl skipped up to him.“Hello!How can I help you today?” she chirped.

Suga smiled politely.“Hi, my name is Sugawara Koushi-“

“Sugawara-san!Of course, you must be here for the reading!”The girl beamed at him and grabbed a pen to tick something off on a clipboard stuck to the wall.“Perfect, you’re right on time.I’m Michimiya.Let me show you to the children’s section.”

Suga followed her obediently through the shelves until they came to a colourfully-decorated area of the library.Low shelves ran along the walls, and desks and beanbags filled the carpeted space in the middle.Tins of pencils were scattered around with sheaths of paper here and there for the children to draw on if it took their fancy.

Michimiya pointed to the left side of the space where a tall dark-haired boy about Suga’s age was listening to a little girl animatedly chat about something, her arms waving all over the place.“That’s Ushijima-san, he’s a regular volunteer here.The girl is Natsu; you’ll probably see a fair bit of her too.”As they watched, Ushijima said something in reply to the girl and her face immediately darkened.Ushijima looked bewildered and slightly panicked as her high-pitched voice grew louder and her arm movements wilder.

Without thinking, Suga went up to them and bobbed down next to the girl, his volleyball reflexes saving him from being smacked in the face by her flailing.“Hello there,” he said in a calm, quiet voice.“Natsu, was it?”

The girl paused in her brewing tantrum and turned to frown at him.“Yes,” she grudgingly answered.

“I’m Suga.Can I help with whatever’s the matter?”

A few minutes later and Natsu was sitting on a cushion happily colouring.Suga gave a satisfied nod and went back to where Michimiya and Ushijima were watching.Michimiya was beaming.“See?I knew it, you’ll fit right in.”She bounced away.

Suga held out a hand to the boy who was still standing there unmoving.“I’m Sugawara Koushi, but everyone calls me Suga.It’s nice to meet you.”

Ushijima didn’t take his hand.“How did you do that?”

Suga blinked.“Er, do what?”He followed the other boy’s gaze.“With Natsu, you mean?”Ushijima gave a stiff nod.“I just listened.She wasn’t really upset, she just wanted help with what she was doing.Why, what did she say to you?”

Ushijima’s frown deepened.“Nevermind,” he muttered, and walked away without waiting for an answer.

Suga stared at his retreating back in bewilderment.This may be an interesting partnership, he sighed internally.

*

Over the next few days the two volunteers didn’t interact all that much, despite spending most of their daytime hours together.Suga developed a rapport with the children and began to love the bright little corner of the library.He helped the younger children with their colouring and was often called over to assist in important decision making (“Which colour for the monster’s third tail?Do you think monster’s could have three tails?”“I don’t see why not.”).Some of the older children were learning to read and write, and he was exceedingly patient with their efforts.Suga felt like he was doing something meaningful.Most of these kids probably wouldn’t remember him, but he knew he had helped them in their developmental journeys and felt satisfied at the end of each day.

Ushijima, however, did not seem to feel the same way.

Suga often glanced over to see the taller boy looking alternatively bewildered and frustrated.The children began to flock towards Suga when they wanted something, and while Suga had been making an effort to quietly encourage them to talk to Ushijima as well, he could see both the volunteer and children becoming exasperated when they couldn’t seem to reach a conclusion on…well, anything.Suga wondered if perhaps Ushijima just didn’t know how to talk to children.He probably didn’t realise how intimidating his height could be, Suga mused, and he spoke to them as if they were his own age or at school instead of a fun - but educational - holiday program.

A week into the program, and Suga was having a terrible morning.His alarm hadn’t gone off, his backup battery-powered alarm had somehow gone flat (even though he swore he’d changed the batteries just two weeks ago), and now he was late to the library.

Coffee in hand, he ran through the carpark and rushed through the doors.He was on his way to the little tearoom where he usually left his bag and lunch when he suddenly collided with a wall.

Suga’s coffee went spilling forward and his books fell out of his hands.The wall gave an odd little yelp as the coffee splashed down the front of its shirt.

Oh, shit.

Suga looked up at Ushijima and the two stared at each other for a moment before Suga exploded in apologies.

“I am so sorry!” he cried.As he talked, he pulled out a napkin and started attempting to wipe the coffee off Ushijima’s shirt.“I woke up late and then I’ve just been so distracted and I really cannot handle the kids until I’ve had coffee but then I was even later and I really am so sorry, I didn’t mean to at all and it’s entirely my fault and I-“

Ushijima caught his hand, stopping the movement and the fountain of words.“Please stop talking.”

Suga realised he had basically just been patting Ushijima’s chest and a blush immediately bloomed on his pale cheeks.

Ushijima glanced down to examine his shirt for a moment before sighing and turning to move further into the tearoom.Suga closed the door behind himself and turned to continue apologising, but the words dried up in his throat.

Ushijima was pulling off his shirt and _wow_.Suga may have whimpered just a little.

Ushijima looked back at him, brows furrowed.“Are you okay?”

Suga nodded, then nodded again just to be sure.“Mm-hm!”His gaze slipped lower and his stomach clenched in appreciation.“You’re really built,” he mumbled to himself.

Ushijima’s cheeks turned pink and Suga wanted to die as he realised he’d said the words aloud.So there they were, the two of them standing there blushing at each other.

After a moment, Ushijima cleared his throat and turned away to reach into his own bag and produce a spare shirt.Suga tried to avoid staring, but couldn’t make himself look away from the lines of Ushijima’s back as he leaned over and then stretched upwards to put the clean shirt on.His eyes snapped away when Ushijima turned and stepped towards him.

There was an awkward silence for another long moment, before Ushijima held out his hand.“Hi.My name is Ushijima Wakatoshi.I volunteer here because my mum’s a librarian but I do not understand children at all.It’s nice to meet you.”

Suga stared at the outstretched hand for a moment before understanding Ushijima’s odd way of apologising for their initial meeting.He took the offered hand and shook it.“Nice to meet you, Ushijima-san.I’m Sugawara Koushi, I’m staying here for the summer and I love working with the kids.Perhaps we should try to work with them together?”

Ushijima hesitated, then nodded.“Fine.”

From then on, the boys worked together instead of next to each other.Suga gave Ushijima advice, such as bending down to the children’s heights when speaking to them, and taking the time to listen until they got to the point they really wanted to talk about.And slowly, Ushijima began to talk more too.Suga learnt that Ushijima had basically grown up at the library and knew it like the back of his hand.He would quietly point out different children and mention their older siblings, or the progress they had made in the last couple of years, and Suga realised that Ushijima cared an awful lot more than was outwardly apparent.

Halfway through the program, Suga and Ushijima were regularly eating lunch together and had begun sharing details of their private lives as well as just talking about the library.Suga told Ushijima about his friends at school, and Ushijima said he was transferring schools this year and didn’t yet know anyone at the new school.Suga had grinned a little and teased that Ushijima was “such a sociable person though,” and when Ushijima had looked a little tight around the eyes had more seriously reassured him that he’d be fine.

*

When the last week of the holidays rolled around, Suga felt that he could confidently call them friends.He waited outside for Ushijima to finish gathering his things - they were staying on the same side of town so walked half the way home together - and bit his lip, lost in thought.

A cleared throat caught his attention and he glanced up with a smile already on his lips.

“Is everything okay?” Ushijima asked politely.

“Hm?Yeah, just distracted.Ready to go?”

The walked in companionable silence until Suga couldn’t hold it in anymore.“Hey Ushijima-san - we’re friends, right?”

Ushijima paused for a moment in surprise, then continued walking.“I would like to think so, yes.In fact-“ he hesitated, looking uncharacteristically unsure.“You may stop using the -san, if you like.”

Suga grinned up at him, surprised but pleased.“Then I wouldn’t be crossing boundaries by asking for your phone number, Ushijima?I’d like to stay in touch once the summer is over.”

Ushijima immediately nodded, handing Suga his phone, no hesitation left in his expression.“Not overstepping at all.I suppose I hadn’t been thinking too much about after the summer.”

They were quiet for a moment, each thinking over the implications.Suga reflected on how they had only known each other for a few weeks, but he already revelled in Ushijima’s companionship and was always willing to spend more time with him.“Perhaps next summer I’ll come back,” he offered, passing Ushijima’s phone back with one new contact saved.

Ushijima nodded, but still looked thoughtful.“A year is a long time,” he commented quietly.

Suga frowned.Was Ushijima saying he wanted to see Suga during the year?Was this calm, content friendship going to survive the rush of day-to-day life?Or was Ushijima subtly suggesting that just friendship wasn’t…

Suga cut that train of thought and decided to play it safe.He bumped shoulders with Ushijima.“We can still talk, genius,” he teased.“That’s why we have our phones, remember?”

Ushijima smiled and the clouds left his eyes.“Of course,” he agreed.

They farewelled each other as usual, and Suga felt a mild flicker of concern as he realised he liked Ushijima perhaps a bit more than usual for a friendship of convenience at work.He briefly decided to examine those feelings further before his head hit the pillow and he forgot what he had ever been worried about.

The rest of the week passed in a blur.Suga had gotten to know the regular children quite well, and his final days of volunteering were bittersweet.It was gratifying to see how much they had learnt in such a short period of time, but Suga knew he was going to miss them.Perhaps he really would try to come back next year, he decided.

The kids weren’t the only ones who had improved in the children’s section.A soft smile crept onto Suga’s face as he watched Ushijima listening to Natsu carefully reading aloud.The girl’s face lit up when Ushijima praised her and she nodded seriously when he gave advice and suggestions.They both looked more comfortable sitting together on the beanbags than Suga would have thought possible a few weeks ago.

*

Ushijima glanced up, feeling someone’s gaze on him.The silver-haired boy gave a little wave until his attention was caught by the upset voices of two of the older students.His eyes darkened a little, but his expression was open as he went to mediate.When the children continued to snipe at each other, Ushijima reflected that Sugawara really could be quiet intimidating when he was angry.He hid a small smile as the kids slunk off in different directions.They’d calm down soon, and Ushijima knew that Suga would be ready with a welcoming smile when they did.He effortlessly handled the kids with minimal casualties, and Ushijima could only hope to emulate some of that empathy.

He was… going to miss Suga.

*

“Don’t forget to keep in touch.My time will be pretty taken up with practice, but…” Suga shrugged a little.He wasn’t about to apologise for volleyball.

Ushijima remembered Suga briefly mentioning he played sport, but they had never really spoken more about it.Ushijima hadn’t told Suga about his volleyball playing because he had wanted to keep this new piece of his life separate.As much as he loved volleyball, this was a place he didn’t need to think about others’ expectations.Just for now, at least, he wanted to keep the friendship as solely his.Something special he’d found in a typically monotonous summer.(Not that the kids were monotonous, but Ushijima had never really known what to do with them before.)

So Ushijima just nodded in agreement.“I’ll be getting busy too.”

Suga had to hide an entirely inappropriate giggle at Ushijima’s wording.“You’re an athlete, right?”

Ushijima’s brows rose in surprise.“How did you know?”He was sure he’d never mentioned it.

Suga turned his face to hide his traitorous blush under the guise of looking at the cars passing by.“You, well.I just thought you might be.”Ushijima’s naked torso flashed in his mind and he shook his head before returning his full attention to the real (but sadly fully clothed) Ushijima in front of him.

Ushijima nodded.“Yes, I will be playing for the school team.”

Suga paused, then asked “Hey, what sport do you-“

A deafening bus horn sounded as the vehicle flew past.Suga gave a short chuckle.“I suppose I should be going.”He glanced at the time, and his eyes widened.“Oh gosh, I really should be going.”

Ushijima nodded again.“Okay.”

Neither of them moved.They both stared at each other for a moment.Suga twitched a little in an aborted attempt at a hug, and Ushijima’s entire body was tense with either awkwardness or uncertainty.

Suga settled on giving Ushijima a little wave, eyes warm.“Bye, Ushijima.”He brushed a hand over Ushijima’s arm as he walked past him.

Ushijima fought a shiver.“Goodbye, Suga,” he whispered.He turned to watch the silver-haired boy for a moment, then set his shoulders and began to walk home.

*

“Okay, we know Shiratorizawa is a strong team.But that doesn’t mean we don’t have a chance.We have new moves they’ve never seen before.We have an unbeatable quick attack, infallible libero, and a team that will fight until the end!Think of this as a learning opportunity.A match is a match, training camp or no.So let’s go, Karasuno!”

Suga clapped Daichi on the shoulder as the team began to file out of the changing room.“Not bad, captain.”

Daichi’s eyes were determined.“They need to be prepared.Have you heard about Shiratorizawa’s new wing spiker?Transferred - apparently he’s got a hell of a serve.We need to be on top of our game today.”

Suga grinned reassuringly.“We won’t let you down.”

They stepped out onto the court, finding their places.Suga rubbed his palms on his shorts, getting into concentration mode.He glanced up and took stock of their opponents, now striding towards them.Some were familiar faces from past camps and tournaments.He nodded to Kenjirō Shirabu, their setter.And-

Wait.

It couldn’t be.

Staring at him across the net was Ushijima.

Suga’s mouth fell open in shock.He’d known the other boy was transferring schools, but they’d never spoken about volleyball.Actually, come to think of it - _how had they never spoken about volleyball?_ Ushijima’s uniform fit him like a glove.Two months and Suga felt that same electricity when he looked at him.This… was going to make things complicated.

Daichi was giving him a concerned glance out the corner of his eye.Suga gave him a small nod, and Daichi narrowed his eyes for second before shrugging and looking away.Daichi trusted that if anything serious was amiss, his vice-captain would be responsible enough to report it.

Suga looked back to Ushijima, who now held a volleyball.He looked so at home with the ball in his hands that Suga wondered how he’d missed this during those weeks of vacation.They made eye contact again and Suga raised his eyebrows at Ushijima, who gave him a weak, bewildered look in return.They would talk after the match.

*

Ushijima was in shock.

Suga was here.Suga was the setter for Karasuno.Suga played volleyball.

The whistle blew, and Ushijima snapped to attention.Any potential emotional crises could wait.

*

Halfway through the game, Suga was exhausted.Shiratorizawa was certainly just as much of a challenge as they’d anticipated, and more.All he could do was try to hold the team together and keep the younger students encouraged.They had to keep their spirits up or they’d never be able to get through a real tournament.

Karasuno lost the rally and the Shiratorizawa players obediently rotated.Suga’s heart thudded just a little when he realised this meant it was Ushijima’s serve.So far the wing spiker had been a strong player, but hadn’t particularly shown off or stood out.Now they would see his real strength.

Ushijima took a few steps back and took a second to settle himself.Then he ran forwards and-

The ball slammed into the ground to the right of Suga, just before the boundary.He hadn’t even had time to react.He slowly raised his eyes and made eye contact with Daichi.The captain’s shoulders had set with determination, but Suga could see the unsettled look in his eyes.How could they possibly receive that?

Nishinoya tried to receive the next serve.He made it to the ball in time, but it ricocheted off his arms at an awkward angle and they lost the point.“I can learn it,” he called to Daichi.“Let me have another.”

Daichi’s eyes flicked around his team and he nodded to Noya.

Ushijima raised his arm to serve again.

*

Ushijima knew his serve was strong.It had injured opposing players before.Karasuno’s libero was rubbing his arms, but seemed okay.The talented player would probably be able to receive his serves in time.Unfortunately for Karasuno, they didn’t have that time.

Ushijima looked over the other side of the court with a critical eye.Suga had been honest when he said he wasn’t a star player (though at the time, he hadn’t mentioned _volleyball_ ).He wasn’t.But he was better than Ushijima had expected, not just technique-wise but also at keeping the team together.Anytime Karasuno lost a point, Suga was there to keep their spirits up and call a “Don’t mind!”

So far he had spiked and served away from Suga, partially because he wanted to test the limits of different players and partially to avoid getting distracted.But this time he needed to switch it up, so he decided to aim straight for the setter.He knew Suga would be able to jump out the way if he couldn’t receive it - Ushijima knew he couldn’t; while he was stronger than he looked, Suga’s strength did not lie in his forearms - and no one would accuse him of acting oddly towards the boy.

Ushijima threw the ball up and swung his arm.As his hand connected, a scuffle broke out to the side of the court.He vaguely heard a yell but didn’t pay it any mind.But Suga, always looking out for his kouhai, broke concentration for a moment.“ _Hinata!_ ” he called sharply.

The split second of distraction was enough.Ushijima pulled back immediately, but the ball was already gone.

Suga looked back just in time for the volleyball to collide with his face, a sickening crack echoing through the gym.He crumpled on the spot.

“ _Suga!_ ”The Karasuno team huddled around the fallen boy, Daichi right by his friend’s side as they panicked.Someone yelled for a medic.Ushijima’s ears were ringing.His legs seemed frozen.He couldn’t process what had happened.

A strong voice shouted for the boys to move and give Suga some space, and they meekly obeyed as the coach strode forward.Daichi was speaking in a low voice to Suga as he slowly blinked, coming back to consciousness.The medic _finally_ pushed through the players gathered around and immediately set to work on Suga.

Ushijima still hadn’t moved.

Why couldn’t he move?

After what felt like an eternity, Suga was standing with the help of his teammates and nodding at them all reassuringly.Some kind bandages or gauze was stuck around his nose.Karasuno’s coach was speaking to the medic, who was nodding.Miraculously, it seemed like Suga didn’t have a concussion.

_Just like him, to reassure them when_ he’s _the one who got a serve to the face._

Suga cast a searching look around and met eyes with Ushijima.Somehow, Ushijima found himself able to use his legs again.He stumbled to the net and met Suga there.He opened his mouth to speak, but Suga interrupted before he could even start.

“Don’ you dare abologise,” he said, though it sounded a little muffled due to his broken nose.Oh, god, Ushijima had _broken his nose_.He was _bleeding_.Oh, _god_.

“Suga, I-“

The corner of Suga’s mouth twitched up slightly in wry amusement.“Hell of a serve you’ve go’ there.”

Ushijima made a weird noise that could either be a cough or a choked laugh.“You- I- “ Suga gave him a warning look, so he settled on, “Are you okay?”

Suga paused, then tried to look at his nose assessingly.He looked quite comical, serious expression at odds with his crossed eyes.He nodded once, then blinked to refocus his eyes and beamed up at Ushijima.“Righd as rain.”He swiped at his nose and quickly wiped the red smear on his t-shirt.“Red rain abbarently, bud rain nonetheless.”

Ushijima didn’t know what to say.“You play volleyball.”

Suga raised his eyebrows at him.“Yes.So do you, abbarently.”

“I, well, yes.”

Neither of them particularly knew what to say, so it was almost a relief when the whistle was blown.“Time to get back out there, I suppose,” Ushijima said.

Suga nodded, and Ushijima had turned to leave when his sleeve was suddenly tugged back.He turned, and Suga’s wide brown eyes could have made him agree to anything.

“Waid for me ad the end of the match.We can catch ub, yeah?”Suga had an uncharacteristically shy look on his face.Ushijima’s cheeks flushed ever-so-slightly and his heart felt light.

“Definitely.”

“Grea’!It’s a dade.”Suga turned and ran back to his team before Ushijima could respond.

_A date…_. Had Suga meant an actual date, or was it just a phrase?After a moment, Ushijima unfroze and made his way over to his own team.They got into position and he bent his knees in preparation for the serve.He met Suga’s eyes through the net and smiled.He couldn’t wait to find out.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed these cute dorks \\(^ヮ^)/
> 
> (Title from "I Do Adore" by Mindy Gledhill.)


End file.
